A Continuation of The Hunger Games
by AquaHaruhiGo
Summary: 1 year after being sent home, Katniss is still petrified by all of the death scenes she's experienced.  One day, she and Peeta find a baby on their doorstep and decide to take care of it.  All characters belong to Suzanne Collins except baby Jennifer.
1. Chapter 1

11/15/11

I sat in my room staring at the wall for what seemed like hours. I did this every day, which scared my mother. The white wall was not just a white wall. It was a battlefield, it was nature, it was torture. Just staring at it, I could see all the blood shed for the sake of my life. When I wasn't staring at the wall, I was throwing fits or having nightmares. I'd kill myself, but then my mother and Peeta would kill themselves also. Maybe Gale too. They should keep living.

I was in the middle of Rue's last moments for the eighth time that week, when I woke to an obnoxious bell. _Ah. My mother did say yesterday that Peeta would be visiting._

I checked my watch. _8:00. Shouldn't he have come over an hour ago?_ I got out of my bed, my face wet with sweat. I quickly put on a pair of pants and a black sweatshirt. I didn't bother to wash my face because I know I will fall asleep again today, and I didn't want to wash my face twice today. My hair looked like crap. _Whatever. What else is new?_

I walked down the stairs quietly, so I could eavesdrop on my mother's conversation with Peeta. Sometimes they talk about me. The two of them were deep in conversation, so there's no way he had just arrived.

I reached the bottom of the stairs and saw that Peeta was holding a little baby in pink. _How could he do this to me? Why does everyone I love leave me?_ I fell down on the floor and started crying. Then I crawled over to the table and started knocking things down. The sound of shattering glass sounded beautiful.

"Katniss! You don't understand!" Peeta said in shock.

"Shut up! Leave me alone!" I screamed. _How could he?_ "Go away! Get out of this house!" I attempted to throw a plate at him, but it never left my hand. _I can't do it. I love him too much._ I curled myself into a ball and started crying again.

I wanted to pass out then and there, so I pretended to fall asleep. I felt Peeta's strong arms pick me up gently. One arm was holding on to my shoulder, his forearm pressing against my back. Another cradled my legs delicately. I did my best not to blush, because sleeping people don't blush. _I think..._

He placed me on my bed and covered me with a sheet. I felt a hand touch mine, and for the first time in a year I fell asleep with no nightmares.


	2. Chapter 2

11/17/11

I rolled over and slowly opened my eyes. My hand was sweaty. I looked over to see why. Peeta was holding my hand and also sleeping in a chair parked next to my bed. I slowly got out of bed and untangled my hand away from his so he could sleep more. _He looks tired._

I washed my face and my hands, and I got dressed in better clothes. I quietly snuck out of the room and walked downstairs. I was still curious about the baby.

My mother was in the kitchen making lunch for us. No baby in sight. _Maybe I was just dreaming. _I heard a whine, and my mother ran out of the kitchen into the dining room. I grabbed a cracker and walked into the dining room. There was that stupid baby. My mother was looming over her, equipped with a bottle and a binky. I decided to try to do this calmly.

"Hey mom, what's with the baby?" I tried to speak casually but when the words left my mouth I sounded shaky and nervous.

"Honey listen... Um... Did you hear the doorbell ring when you woke up this morning?" I nod. "Well, we found this baby on our doorstep- um, it's a girl."

"So it's not Peeta's child?" I ask in desperation.

"Of course not. He only loves you." She said. "I guess I'll take care of the baby then..."

Knowing that the baby wasn't Peeta's made it look about a million times cuter and more innocent. "Hey mom, do you think Peeta and I could take care of her?" _Of course she'll say no to that, what a stupid question._

"Well, sure. If that's okay with Peeta..." She said after long consideration.

Just as our conversation was coming to an end, Peeta walked down the stairs. "Mom said I could take care of the baby with you... That is- if you're okay with that..."

"Would that make you happy?" He asked.

"Of course it would."

"Then that settles that."

"Can I name her," I asked.

"No. She already has a name."

"How do you know?" I asked curiously.

"Check her necklace."


	3. Chapter 3

11/17/11

"Read the necklace," Peeta said to me.

I hadn't noticed that the girl was wearing a necklace until Peeta mentioned it. I was curious to know what her name was. As the saying goes, 'curiosity killed the cat'. Honestly, I don't see how being curious in this case will hurt me at all. My hand moves shakily towards her silver necklace. The necklace is a dog tag with a name deeply engraved into the dark silver plate. I have to squint my eyes to read it.

It says: Jennifer Basil Lovage. What a beautiful name. I read it out loud, slowly. _I wonder what happened to the rest of her family. Why was she at our doorstep?_

My mother broke the silence. "So, what do you guys want for lunch?"

Peeta asked for a peanut-butter and jelly and I got a ham and tomato sandwich. When we finished lunch and dessert- some chocolate cake my mother made the day before- we headed up to my room to hang out and talk. Our talking time was transformed into a span of time where I poured out my heart to Peeta and started crying. He listened and held me tight the whole time. Then after an extended awkward silence, the topic of the baby Jen came up.

I started off the conversation by saying, "where do you think she came from- I mean who were her parents and why she's on _my_ doorstep."

"Whoever left her at _your_ doorstep must have been completely insane," he teased.

"Well, maybe." Somehow, his sarcasm when teasing me was reassuring. He spoke in a tone that made what he said and I thought simple and absolutely unbelievable. But deep inside my messed-up brain and his, we both knew what he just said was completely true. The person who left Jennifer _must_ have been insane.

"But I'm kind of glad that the world she will grow up in will be slightly better than ours. I mean, with the Hunger Games gone and all..."

"Very true," Peeta responded being unusually punctual.

We both vowed to protect Jennifer with our lives, no matter what.


	4. Chapter 4

11/18/11

I planned to take Jen out on a walk behind the electrical fence, but Peeta refused saying that it was too dangerous. He said, "I don't want to risk losing either of you." I know he was being sweet when he said that, but I _really_ wanted to show Jen the same view my father showed me during my childhood. Sure, she's a little young- but I'd protect her.

So that's how Peeta, Jen, and I ended up visiting the bakery owned by Peeta's family. They decided to make the shop even bigger than it used to be, so when you walk in there is a place to sit to eat your pastries. If this bakery were in the capitol, they would probably have window seats looking over the beautiful view- but we're in district 12, not the capitol. _There's a big difference. _We ordered bread with tomato and basil. Jen did not like it very much, which was ironic- since her middle name is Basil. She must hate tomatoes.

We were just heading back, when I spotted Gale jumping over the fence. _He'd have the same reaction seeing Jen and I, as I had when Peeta had her._ Even though he knew that I loved Peeta, I didn't want to hurt him. I decided to walk a little faster.

While I was walking, I almost dropped Jen. _Oh yeah, almost forgot about her._ Maybe I could greet Gale without showing the baby. I give Jen to Peeta, and I walk over to Gale.

"Hey," he says casually.

"Um... Hey." _This is awkward._.. _Say something already!_

"So, what's with the baby? I didn't know you two loved each other _that_ much." My first reaction was _crap! The baby! _But his voice- that was full of jealousy- pissed me off.

"I know you're jealous, but you have no right to judge my relationship with Peeta! I hate you!"

I took Jen back and held her tightly in my hands. And with that, I stormed off with Peeta while half-crying.


	5. Review 1

Ch. 5

Review!

For anybody who is confused- I had one comment protesting that Peeta's family was dead and the bakery was destroyed. Yeah, that is true... But the reason it was written that way was so you could try to imagine some yourself. Sorry if that was confusing. The whole point of the bakery scene is to show that in the story I'm writing, you should assume that Peeta's parents never died or whatever, and also that the bakery was repaired and updated to be less junky and district 12-ish.

Also, I want to go over the characters again, just for review.

Katniss Everdeen- Main character (no duh)

Peeta Mellark- Major character, in love with Katniss. Son of bakers, entered Hunger Games w/ Katniss

Prim- Katniss' sister, IDK when to introduce her again or where she is yet... (Lazy author)

Gale- Katniss' first love and childhood/best friend. Ditched for Peeta by Katniss.

The rest should be self-explanatory

Thank you all who have read my story up until this point! It's made me super happy- this is the first story I've ever written on FanFiction! :D Please comment! Who's excited for the Hunger Games Movie? It comes out 3 days before my birthday! I think... For anyone who is curious, so far I've had about 600 ppl read my story. :D *SUPER EXCITED SMILEY!*

3 Love y'all 3

-AquaHaruhiGo


	6. Chapter 5

11/19

_Why did I run away from Gale? He was just stating a fact. Maybe I'm depending on Peeta too much. Maybe the baby has made me emotional. How long have I been like this? Where is the real Katniss?_

I washed my face in the sink and looked into the mirror. I vowed to never cry again. No matter what.

I walked out of my room feeling good- a feeling I haven't felt in a long time- with my head high. I convinced myself that if I stay here, the day will only get better. And that was true, if I decided that it was true. _This logic is kind of confusing. Whatever, just be happy. Smile!_

When I got to the bottom of the stairs I heard my mother and Peeta cheering. _Wtf?_

Then, Peeta yelled, "Katniss, get down here!"

"Coming!"

When I walked in, I was sort of afraid. My mother and Peeta's faces looked so happy that I thought that they were crazed. Kind of in that 'super-creepy-clown-smile' way.

I peeked around to see what they were smiling for. "Why did you call for me?"

Peeta hugged me tightly, so tightly I felt that I might explode- with joy of course. Okay...

"Look at Jenny!" He said enthusiastically.

I looked down at the young baby. _Okay..._ Then, I finally got it. She was standing!

"Can she walk yet?" I asked.

"Hey, Jenny." Peeta said. "You want to walk with me?" He grabbed her hand gently. Kneeling, he scooted next to her. The girl took small, clumsy steps. Each time she fell, her father would catch her and bring her to her feet. Then they would continue walking.

Eventually, Jennifer got the hang of walking. Instead of taking small shaky steps, she took long graceful strides and stopped falling down. I was stunned. Such a small child, walking so early? I almost forgot that she wasn't ours that I didn't even know how old she was. _By being given this child, we have been blessed. Oh, what a wonderful child! I wonder how old she is. She must be about 1 year old if she can walk already, though she looks much younger and does not realize that I am not her mother. Nor does she realize that Peeta is not her father._

"Peeta- let's never tell her that she's not ours." I said possessively.

"Agreed. She is beautiful enough to pass off as your child."

I ignored the comment. I was too surprised to know that she could walk so soon. She started towards the stairs, and I decided that it would be dangerous to ignore her. I was right.

She walked-crawled- up three stairs. Then she gave up and fell backwards. If I had not been there, she might have split her head open. I caught her, and walked back into the living room.


	7. Review 2

Ch. 7

Review 2

Hey People!

Sorry, I missed a few things about baby Jennifer. In the third chapter, after it says 'check her necklace' I should have had a description of Jen. Sorry- here it is.

Jen- Ginger with light electric-blue eyes, pale skin, reasonably short for her age, small, [cute], wide-eyed. She has quite a bit of hair- it's thin and kinda stringy. It's about shoulder length, maybe a bit longer. She likes to wear headbands, so later on she will be wearing headbands a lot.

If I miss details in the future, please tell me so I can go back and correct them! :D

I will be updating my profile pretty often also, so check when you can.

Thanks for reading this far ;)

-AquaHaruhiGo


	8. Chapter 6

11/23

10 YEARS LATER

"_Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Jennifer. Happy birthday to you."_

_Ugh. Stop singing. You can't even sing well. _My mother hovered over my bed on the right side, and my father on the left. My mother was dressed in a leather jacket and skinny jeans. Her hair was up tightly and her face was lit up brightly. My father, on the other hand was dressed in black pants, a T-shirt, and a blue jean apron.

"Come on, Jenny. Get up!" My mother attempted at pulling my sheets away. I rolled myself into a cocoon made of my sheets and quilt. She gave up, and it was my father's turn.

My father got closer and started to tickle my stomach. I gave in and started laughing hysterically and kicking. He scooped me up and put me on my chair. My mother walked over with a brush and started pulling at my knotted ginger hair. My father left, probably to start baking downstairs. My mother chose a purple shirt and light colored skinny jeans for me to wear. She put my hair up into a matching sequined purple headband.

Today we will have a birthday party with my grandma and my aunt at my mom's old house. The house is bigger than the one that we're living in now. Now I'm living in a small bakery near the center of town. My mom says that this house was once my other grandma's. They died when I was 2 years old.

"Jennifer, hurry up! We're leaving soon!" my mom screamed.

"Coming!"


End file.
